OMGrill, Jurong

Winner of Mediacorp Channel 5’s Wok Stars, 26 year-old Ng Kheng Siang has a university degree in food science and technology. As a winning prize, he is given a 1-year rent free stall. He chooses to open a Western food stall that doesn’t have pork or lard.

Not many options: just four dishes, chicken chop, grilled fish, chicken wings, and grilled chicken. You can add $1.40 to make it into a set that has rice and salad. Both the chicken chop ($4.50/ $5.90 set) and black-pepper grilled chicken (half $6.50/ $7.90 set) were excellent: thoroughly marinated that the marinate soaked through the flesh; both were juicy, tender and delectably smoky–guess the Wok Star brought the wok hei to the food–but may be a tad salty. The grilled chicken was better than the chicken chop, juicier with a peppery edge. The sides, buttered rice and salad, were ordinary.

“Draw me like one of your French girls.”

This was excellent hawker-styled Western food, better than the average, and perhaps the best grilled chicken among hawkers, but I can’t help to be disappointed. After all, 3-Michelin-starred Chef Alvin Leung, and Celebrity Chef Willin Low (of Wild Rocket) were his mentors. Surely, the food could be more innovative, like A Noodle Story? Was it unreasonable of me to expect more? I spent $12.40.